


Kazumasa Sakai

by jenskaya20



Category: Ghost of Tsushima (Video Game)
Genre: Conflict, Encouragement, Friendship, Gen, Loyalty, Pain, Politics, argument, bereavement, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 00:47:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30114567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenskaya20/pseuds/jenskaya20
Summary: A mysterious character in the story of Ghost of Tsushima, an attempt to bring him to life. A snapshot of who he might have been.
Relationships: Brothers - Relationship, Friends - Relationship, Samurai and Commoners
Comments: 3
Kudos: 1





	Kazumasa Sakai

__

_Two years after the Yarikawa Rebellion_

It was Spring when the summons reached Lord Kazumasa Sakai. The island conclaves among the Samurai were at hand, and his first duty was to travel to Castle Kaneda and report on the Kubara region, his home. Leaving Jin and Yuriko at his estate, he set out one clear morning at dawn for his journey.

In order to reach the castle in the south, he had to pass by Yarikawa to the east. The charred ruins of its farmsteads were still fresh, with the winter dew soaking into the rotting wooden structures. Kazumasa slowed down his horse and kept an eye out for any suspicious activity, but it was all but dead, and few people walked the roads. It grieved him to see such a prosperous prefecture be turned to such squalor. Knowing he had set many of these places on fire himself.

The ride through Akashima was equally haunting, with the morning mists still covering the swamps. A crane cried out in the distance, sending a peal of longing through his soul. If only he had someone to share such feelings with.

Kazumasa passed over the Tsushima isthmus and arrived at the northern gate of Castle Kaneda. Here he saw many lower samurai attending to their duties. He hoped to see a familiar face in the crowd.

“Lord Adachi! I am glad to see you again!” Kazumasa immediately approached his beloved friend in the courtyard of the keep. He too had just arrived from the south.

“Lord Sakai! How did your winter fare?” The lord clad in blue armor bowed to him. Kazumasa got off his horse and together they walked towards the keep.

“It was tolerable. I had a number of troubles with my retainers having enough food to supply their tenants. The war still affects people terribly.”

“Indeed. Izuhara was less affected. But what of yourself? And how is your little one?”

“He grows stronger everyday. I believe my son will begin some extensive training this year with the bow.”

“Is that so? Perhaps he is ready. Will you train him?”

“I hope to have Sensei Ishikawa teach him. I’m much too busy…”

“He is a fine warrior… but he is rather far from Kubara. Are you sure you won’t train him yourself?” Lord Adachi turned his head to the side.

Kazumasa sighed slowly and didn’t reply. He stared at the ground while they ascended the steps of the keep. Inside, Lord Shimura held court. The lord-paramount knelt in regal armor with several advisors to his left and right, including a chronicler.

“Lord Sakai, Lord Adachi! Thank you for your prompt arrival on this morning.”

The two lords knelt with their faces to the ground before situating themselves before him. It would be an exhausting day. Kazumasa had lost interest in politics after the Rebellion, but Lord Shimura and Lord Adachi were all but willing to engage with the slightest minutia.

After a long session of reports, plans and instructions, there was a break at noon. The three lords retired for a meal where they could speak of lighter fare.

“How are your sons, Lord Adachi?” Kazumasa asked first.

“They too are growing strong. My eldest Shigisato just managed to pull back a full yew bow and shoot an arrow over 150 shaku!”

“Very impressive! They will certainly make fine warriors. Are they training with the Nagao lords?”

“They are, but I make sure to give them personal training as well. There is nothing like the teaching of a family member.”

Kazumasa nodded sadly but had no reply. Lord Shimura saw this but changed the subject.

“I’m hoping to do some more repairs of my castle this summer. I’m sure some of your masons will be able to assist once again, Lord Adachi?”

“As my father helped yours, so will I come to your aid. What ails your humble abode this time?”

“I found some weaknesses in the outer wall near its southern gates, fire damage from the war. I thought I had succeeded in finding all its flaws but there is still more to do. At least the bridge to the keep remained untouched. My father restructured the bridge to resist fire long before the war, though I have no intention of testing that any time soon.”

“Yes, that precious gem of your forefathers, must keep polished at all times,” Kazumasa took a sip of sake while Lord Shimura fell silent. Lord Adachi smirked at the joke.

“Lord Sakai has told me that Jin was going to take up lessons with the bow, isn’t that true?”

“He is ready for it and willing. I will take him to Lord Nagao’s dojo this summer. He is not much younger than your sons, but has shown great maturity.”

“He handles you quite well, I know,” Lord Shimura smiled. “You have not tested his patience too much of late, I hope?”

“He’s not had an issue of patience, but he does sometimes lack foresight. Just last week he threw a stone into the lake, hoping to hide the fact he hadn’t carried it up to our estate when I told him to, but instead splashed mud all over his garments. I'd say it was a good lesson for the future.”

Lord Shimura and Lord Adachi laughed while Kazumasa smiled lightly. Perhaps it was amusing after all.

The lords reconvened that afternoon with several smaller retainers coming to make their requests. It was the usual: better land, better farming gear, lower taxes. Kazumasa listened to them graciously but it was only Lord Shimura who spoke for them.

“I’ve heard the same complaint from you for the past 3 years, Kobayashi, but an apathy to improve your own circumstances. Will you not work to improve your rice fields so that the tax will be of less impact?”

“My land has been with my family for generations, and there is no way to improve such old grounds, not even the irrigation. I beseech you to give my region a reprieve of land taxes this year, just once!”

“And do you think it is up to me to determine the remission of the tax? The shogun declares it, and I must perform my duty. There shall be no favoritism coming from me.”

“Then implore the shogun to adjust his laws! Surely I’m not the only one in this position! I cannot leave the homestead of my ancestors, even for a better life!”

“And who are you to speak with such impunity of what I should petition the shogun?” Lord Shimura raised his voice but quickly calmed himself down with a sigh. “Perhaps you must acquire new contracting with the neighboring retainers for better land but that is not my concern. You must figure it out for yourself.”

Kobayashi the retainer bowed to the floor in humiliation. “As you say, my lord,” he said quietly and left the keep.

“You were rather harsh on him this time, weren’t you, my Lord?” Kazumasa ventured to speak up when all the retainers had left.

“I grow tired of his excuses. He does not speak the truth openly, which I know based on my scouts. He waits too late to sow his rice, and then is too slow at harvest.”

“Even if he exaggerates, if there is one grain of truth to his plight, might we find a way to satisfy the shogun without him knowing what we are doing?”

“So we take more from others who have worked harder than Kobayashi?”

“No. _We_ keep less from what they owe _us_. It is our duty to take on some of the hardship just as well.”

Lord Shimura remained silent in thought. Lord Adachi was impressed with this idea and nodded his head.

“I’ll consider it,” the jito finally said. “But I don’t believe him the right candidate. Perhaps others...”

“You will gain exceeding popularity with the retainers if you are clear when you will exchange taxes for an equivalent debt, my lord,” Lord Adachi offered tactfully. Lord Shimura smiled.

“I’m glad to have you both at my side. We have had some difficult years, but we will get through it. I dismiss you all today, and we will reconvene in a month, at the next quarter moon. Lord Sakai, I would like to speak with you personally.”

The lords and advisors all went to their homes across the island while Kazumasa stayed put. It was late afternoon, and the weather was quite warm. The cherry blossoms at the pond sprinkled their pedals all over the ground, and lanterns were lit on the water. The sky glowed orange to the west.

The two lords took a stroll through the courtyards.

“How are you truly doing, Lord Sakai?” Lord Shimura asked quietly.

“Awful. Truly awful. I am glad the Kubara prefecture remained largely untouched by my gloomy habits. I know it’s unhealthy, but… I find myself only able to calm my thoughts when I am alone, in meditation.”

“I’m truly sorry to hear it…” Lord Shimura frowned. “I am concerned for Jin. You hope to train him under the archers of Lord Nagao?”

“It is not far, Tokiasa, and just for a few months. I want only the best for him.”

“Are you sure it is though? … He may easily train with my archers as well. And I am willing myself.”

“Don’t… push yourself so much, my lord. I know you’ve done so much for Jin already. I do not ask you for more.”

“… But perhaps _I_ do, Kazumasa.”

Lord Shimura stopped and made his friend stay at his side. They exchanged a silent glance.

“I am grateful for Jin,” Kazumasa forced himself to say. “I just don’t know what’s come over me these years.”

“I know… and this is why I ask a favor of you now. I request that you take up summer conclaves here at Castle Kaneda, without me.”

“What? I would be alone?” Kazumasa grimaced.

“Is this not what you wanted? To oversee the retainers on your own? You would have the other lords with you. I need to stay north this year, and oversee my new construction. I actually plan to expand the outer rim with the help of Clan Kikuchi.”

Kazumasa sighed. “So that’s why you were so demanding with the taxes this year. You spend so many resources fortifying that castle, and what do the peasants really get out of it?”

“They get a place to look to, Kazumasa. It serves as a trade and political center, a point of stability! I _must_ protect it at all costs. You already know this.”

“… I rode past Yarikawa this morning, and what did I see? A rotting wasteland. Will you not do anything to heal that prefecture, my lord?”

“Yarikawa can rot for all I care,” Lord Shimura grimaced. “If you have compassion already after what they did to me, my _family_ , why not you restore them yourself?”

“They weren’t just rebels, my lord, they were people! I still have regrets after what we did. Were we too harsh? Did we burn bridges that we cannot mend? That’s a bridge _I_ would care about, Tokiasa!”

“Something else is on your mind, Kazumasa, I can feel it,” Lord Shimura gritted his teeth. “Out with it! You’ve pent up your emotions long enough without truly controlling them.”

“And are you so great at that yourself? _Who_ is? Are we not all presenting facades for the sake of setting an example for our people? To what end? Wastelands! At the front door _of your own castle!”_

“Do not speak of what you do not know!” Lord Shimura’s eyes blazed. “After everything we’ve been through, how can you not understand? … I need you _with_ me, Kazumasa! You’re the only one, the _only one_ of the lords who understands me! And yet... I feel like you know nothing at the same time...”

Kazumasa shut his mouth. They walked in a tumultuous silence for quite some time, paying little attention to their surroundings. It was already getting dark and servants were lighting lanterns in front of their path.

“I miss her so much,” Kazumasa finally whispered. “How did you get over your own wife’s death so well? I just don’t understand.”

“Maybe I haven’t,” Lord Shimura sighed. “But we are different people. Perhaps your source of comfort has to be… something different than what has become mine.”

“Which is?”

“... Jin.”

Kazumasa looked at his old friend in astonishment. “So he means that much to you.”

“Yes. I want you to remember this. While you are bereaved, you still have a son… I have nothing.”

Kazumasa stared at the ground, all his anger evaporating. A moment passed.

“... If I spend more time in Castle Kaneda this summer, perhaps I can stop by Lord Nagao’s prefecture while Jin is there. And we’ll still be able to see each other as he trains.”

“Exactly. That is what I want for you. Do it, Kazumasa. For me. And for her. It’s what she would have wanted… You’ve been so kind to me all these years. ”

Kazumasa smiled sadly. “Thank you, brother.”

They spent more time talking that night and both of them stayed at the castle. They rode out at dawn together the next day, followed by Lord Shimura’s entourage.

“I appreciate what you have done for me, Kazumasa,” Lord Shimura told him gravely. “You must let me give you what I can in return.”

“You owe me no debt, my lord. I only wish we keep on honest terms, and are able to speak our minds. You would do well to listen to me, too. Think about what I said. Sometimes I feel like something is holding you back. I don't know what it is, and if it's not me who can show it to you... perhaps someone else will, one day.”

“I know… perhaps we both have things we can’t move on from,” he frowned. They rode together along the edge of the Yarikawa prefecture, grimly watching their surroundings. It was certainly a sore sight to see.

“Have a good spring, Lord Shimura,” Kazumasa nodded his head to his jito as they rode next to each other. “The fork in the road up ahead signals that we must part ways now.”

“Go in peace. Say my greetings to Jin for me,” Lord Shimura smiled sadly.

“I will,” Kazumasa took off at a galop down the road and turned left. Lord Shimura continued right with his escort. Eventually his magnificent castle loomed ahead. The only thing he had.

His heart felt cold inside him.

_Wandering in mists_   
_Silence in the dimming light_   
_Charred hearts remaining_

**Author's Note:**

> Kazumasa might have been broken, but there was still something noble and true about him. I wanted to bring that out in him, especially when it comes to his conflicts with Lord Shimura. Kazumasa was probably the only samurai who attempted to go toe-to-toe with his jito, to speak as an equal to his friend and brother-in-law.


End file.
